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'Face of poverty in S. Asia is a fe



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?Face of poverty in S. Asia is a female one?

Discrimination against women begins before birth: Mahbub report

The Asian Age (New Delhi)
October 10, 2000

New Delhi, Oct. 9: ?Across South Asia, despite constitutional guarantees
of equality, women face discrimination in the legal, economic, political
and cultural spheres of life, ? said Dr Khadija Haq, president of the
Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre and principal author of report on
Human Development in South Asia 2000: The Gender Question.

?The face of poverty in South Asia is increasingly a female one,? she
added during the global launch of the report in New Delhi on Monday.

The report aims to try and understand why the South Asian women are so
severely disadvantaged. ?Discrimination against women in South Asia
begins at, or even before, birth. Female foeticide and infanticide,
neglect of health, and gender-biased feeding practices combined with
heavy work burden are all manifestations of son preference and
patriarchal structures that prevail across this region, ? Dr Haq added.

Highlighting the extremely poor condition and position of the South
Asian women, the report gives some alarming statistics:

§ Almost 80 million women in the region are ?missing,? or killed before
birth or in infancy due to severe gender discrimination
§ Majority of work done by women in this region is invisible and remains
unaccounted for and their economic participation is a mere fraction of
that of men.
§ Only one-third of the adult literate population in the region is
female.
§ Lastly, due to discrimination in educational, economic and social
spheres, women are also excluded from mainstream political
participation. Only 7.4 per cent (156) of parliamentarians in the region
are women. And their position in judiciary is worst off at 6 per cent
and just nine per cent women are part of the civil services.

Quoting her late husband and famous economist Mahbub ul Haq, the
report?s principal author said: ?Human development, if not engendered,
is fatally endangered,? and added, ?Invisibility of women in the economy
is a worldwide phenomenon, but in South Asia its impact is pernicious.

Despite the tradition of having strong women leaders, the region?s women
are mostly invisible in all governing institutions, says the report.

However, India with reservation of seats for women in Panchayati Raj
institutions has come in for special praise for its efforts to integrate
women in the mainstream politics.

Dr Haq said that all the nation in South Asia need to formulate and
implement individual agenda for equality and empowerment of women,
especially enforcement of women?s constitutional rights, repeal of
discriminatory laws, equitable application of family laws and gender
sensitive legal education, and equality in access to education and
health services.

The report emphasizes on the need for gender-disaggregated accurate
database for correct and analytical policy formulation.

?Throughout South Asia, enforcement of laws intended to protect or
empower women is obstructed by cultural traditions, ignorance of laws
and a lack of will among the enforcement agents and judiciary,? Dr Haq
added.

After formally releasing the report, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson
Najma Heptaulla said that although a lot of women parliamentarians in
India have been lobbying for reservation in legislative bodies, no
progress could be made on that front.

She suggested dual representatives for reserved constituencies as a way
for providing more representation for women in legislative bodies.

?This report is report card on progress of nations in the area of human
development,? according to UNDP resident representative Brenda Gael
McSweeney.

All the governments in this region need to incorporate gender into all
aspects of planning to make women truly equitable society, which this
region needs desperately to unleash the creative energies of its
people.?



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<html>
<b>?Face of poverty in S. Asia is a female one?</b>
<p><b>Discrimination against women begins before birth: Mahbub report</b>
<p><b>The Asian Age (New Delhi)</b>
<br><b>October 10, 2000</b>
<p><b>New Delhi, Oct. 9:</b> ?Across South Asia, despite constitutional
guarantees of equality, women face discrimination in the legal, economic,
political and cultural spheres of life, ? said Dr Khadija Haq, president
of the Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre and principal author of report
on Human Development in South Asia 2000: The Gender Question.
<p>?The face of poverty in South Asia is increasingly a female one,? she
added during the global launch of the report in New Delhi on Monday.
<p>The report aims to try and understand why the South Asian women are
so severely disadvantaged. ?Discrimination against women in South Asia
begins at, or even before, birth. Female foeticide and infanticide, neglect
of health, and gender-biased feeding practices combined with heavy work
burden are all manifestations of son preference and patriarchal structures
that prevail across this region, ? Dr Haq added.
<p>Highlighting the extremely poor condition and position of the South
Asian women, the report gives some alarming statistics:
<p>&sect; Almost 80 million women in the region are ?missing,? or killed
before birth or in infancy due to severe gender discrimination
<br>&sect; Majority of work done by women in this region is invisible and
remains unaccounted for and their economic participation is a mere fraction
of that of men.
<br>&sect; Only one-third of the adult literate population in the region
is female.
<br>&sect; Lastly, due to discrimination in educational, economic and social
spheres, women are also excluded from mainstream political participation.
Only 7.4 per cent (156) of parliamentarians in the region are women. And
their position in judiciary is worst off at 6 per cent and just nine per
cent women are part of the civil services.
<p>Quoting her late husband and famous economist Mahbub ul Haq, the report?s
principal author said: ?Human development, if not engendered, is fatally
endangered,? and added, ?Invisibility of women in the economy is a worldwide
phenomenon, but in South Asia its impact is pernicious.
<p>Despite the tradition of having strong women leaders, the region?s women
are mostly invisible in all governing institutions, says the report.
<p>However, India with reservation of seats for women in Panchayati Raj
institutions has come in for special praise for its efforts to integrate
women in the mainstream politics.
<p>Dr Haq said that all the nation in South Asia need to formulate and
implement individual agenda for equality and empowerment of women, especially
enforcement of women?s constitutional rights, repeal of discriminatory
laws, equitable application of family laws and gender sensitive legal education,
and equality in access to education and health services.
<p>The report emphasizes on the need for gender-disaggregated accurate
database for correct and analytical policy formulation.
<p>?Throughout South Asia, enforcement of laws intended to protect or empower
women is obstructed by cultural traditions, ignorance of laws and a lack
of will among the enforcement agents and judiciary,? Dr Haq added.
<p>After formally releasing the report, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson
Najma Heptaulla said that although a lot of women parliamentarians in India
have been lobbying for reservation in legislative bodies, no progress could
be made on that front.
<p>She suggested dual representatives for reserved constituencies as a
way for providing more representation for women in legislative bodies.
<p>?This report is report card on progress of nations in the area of human
development,? according to UNDP resident representative Brenda Gael McSweeney.
<p>All the governments in this region need to incorporate gender into all
aspects of planning to make women truly equitable society, which this region
needs desperately to unleash the creative energies of its people.?
<p>&nbsp;</html>

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